Nelvana Limited (Canada)
Background: Nelvana was founded in 1971 by Michael Hirsh. The name was from the female super-hero book “Nelvana of the Northern Lights”. They decided to use a polar bear to avoid confusion. 1st Logo (December 6, 1977- ) Logo: This is not really a logo, just an in-credit text. FX/SFX: None. Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show or special. Availability: Ultra common. Seen on all shows and specials, starting with A Cosmic Christmas. Editor’s Note: A popular in-credit logo. 2nd Logo (October 15, 1978-April 2, 1988) Nicknames: “The Polar Bear”, “‘70s Polar Bear” Logo: Superimposed on the credits, we see an abstract polar bear with text below that either reads “NELVANA”, “NELVANA LIMITED”, or “A NELVANA PRODUCTION”. FX/SFX: None. Music/Sounds: None or the ending theme. Availability: Fairly common. Seen on shows during the era. Editor’s Note: This logo is used in tandem with the next logo below until 1988. 3rd Logo (September 14, 1985-November 7, 2003) Nicknames: “The Polar Bear II”, “‘80s Polar Bear”, “Neon Polar Bear”, “Ultra Common Polar Bear” Logo: On a black background, we see a blue square with a red border that tilts and zooms in. We see seven yellow stars with the word “NELVANA” in red. A shower of light forms which starts off neon yellow then turns neon blue. It reveals to be the polar bear from before and “NELVANA” lights up in orange. Variants: * A more common variant exists where it starts with the shower of light animation. * A theatrical variant exists where the polar bear stands on its hind legs and then looks above. All seven stars disappear. FX/SFX: Neon effects. Music/Sounds: A synth theme with a thunderclap sound. For most of Nelvana’s ‘90s shows, the ending theme played over it, silence or (rarely), the standard theme played. For the theatrical variant, a “haunting” synth theme is heard. Availability: Ultra common. However, it’s extinct on The WB as it’s plastered by the 2004 logo. Editor‘s Note: Even though most shows used this logo until 1997, it was retired in 1996. However, Franklin used this logo from its debut from 1998 until sometime in 1999 and Little Bear continued to use this logo until its end in 2003. 4th Logo (December 2, 1995-July 30, 2005) Nicknames: “The Polar Bear III”, “‘90s Polar Bear”, “Space Polar Bear”, “CGI Polar Bear” Logo: On a space background, we see the same logo as before, except everything is in blue and the stars are now white on a blue arc. The polar bear starts out as a flash. The logo zooms out. A comet appears. Byline: * December 2, 1995-2002: (bylineless) * 2002-July 30, 2005: “Nelvana is a COrUs Entertainment Company” (with “''COrUs''” in its corporate font and in color. In this variant, the logo is shifted up from the zoom out.) Variants: * There is an even shorter version where it starts with the comet shooting. * There’s also an extended version where it has a delayed zoom out. It ends with the logo animating backwards, but without the comet animation. * A theatrical variant exists. * Sometimes, the URL “www.nelvana.com” appears above or below the logo, starting in 1997. FX/SFX: CGI. Music/Sounds: The ending theme or none. In 2002, the haunting theme from the previous logo’s theatrical variant was used. This was mainly used for the extended variant. Availability: Pretty common. Like the previous logo, it’s extinct on The WB, due to plastering with the 2004 logo, like on pre-2004 episodes of Plum Landing A Man Called Shenandoah Rolie Polie Olie CBSRolie Polie Olie on CBS '' Editor’s Note: ''Beyblade G-Revolution kept this logo until its end in 2005. 5th Logo (2001-2004) Nicknames: “The Polar Bear IV”, “‘2000s Polar Bear”, “Still Polar Bear” Logo: On a white background, we see the same logo as before, except “NELVANA” is in a different font. Below it is the URL “www.nelvana.com”. Byline: Referred to as “''A CORUS Entertainment Company''”. FX/SFX: None. Music/Sounds: The ending theme or none. Availability: Ultra rare. It’s an alternate logo between 2001 and 2004. On The WB, it’s been plastered by the next logo below. Editor’s Note: None. 6th Logo (September 7, 2004- ) Nicknames: “The Polar Bear V”, “‘2000s Polar Bear II”, “Aurora Polar Bear”, “Ultra Common Polar Bear II” Logo: On a black background, we see the word “NELVANA” in white with a dark blue outline. A white polar bear swims onto the screen. It jumps onto the “NELVANA” text, then walks. It bumps a star and a white light of haze forms and dissipates behind the logo. Byline: * September 7, 2004- : “''A CORUS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY''” * Alternate Variant; September 7, 2004- : “A Corus Entertainment Inc. Company” Variants: * Sometimes, no haze is shown for the standard logo. * There is a more common variant where it starts with the polar bear bumping the star. * On Handy Manny, “A NELVANA PRODUCTION” appears above the logo. * On A Man Called Shenandoah Treehouse Direct there is a superimposed variant on season 3 of Max and Ruby. No haze is shown. * Starting with season 5 of Cyberchase, it starts with the polar bear walking on the text right after it jumps onto the logo. * Sometimes, the logo is bylineless. * Occasionally, the 2004 byline is in gray. * On The WB prints of Plum Landing, the haze is more flashy. * On My Friend Rabbit, the polar bear “stalls” a bit where it does not bump the star exactly when first seen, then the animation continues as normal. * On Grossology, the polar bear gets slimed. FX/SFX: A combination of 2D and computer graphics. Music/Sounds: Usually, the ending theme of the show plays over the logo, but sometimes it has its own music, a nice guitar theme with a child laughing towards the end. Availability: Ultra common. Seen on all current Nelvana shows, such as The Backyardigans and Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends on Nick Jr., Grossology and The Adventures of Chuck and Friends on Discovery Family, Babar and the Adventures of Badou and A Man Called Shenandoah Handy Manny A Man Called Shenandoahn on Disney Junior and Plum Landing on The WB and PBS Kids. It also appears tacked at the end of some shows that had older Nelvana logos, such as Babar ''and ''Corduroy. Starting with Hotel Transylvania: The Series, this logo is slowly starting to be phased out in favor of the 8th logo. However, some shows still continue to use this logo, most notably Plum Landing. Don’t expect to see this logo on The Plum Landing Movie Rolie Polie Olie 2006 Cain's Hundred Treehouse Direct The Plum Landing Movie 2: On Thin Ice nor The Plum Landing Movie 3: Spring is in the Air, even though Nelvana produced the series. It’s currently used in tandem with the 8th logo. Editor’s Note: It’s an okay logo, but considered annoying due to its omnipresence. 7th Logo (2004-2005) Nicknames: “The Polar Bear VI”, “‘2000s Polar Bear III”, “Space Polar Bear Wannabe” Logo: Same as the 4th logo, except with the logo from the previous logo. Byline: Referred to as “''A CORUS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY''”. Variants: * There is an extended version where it animates just like the 4th logo’s extended version. * Once again, on seasons 4 and 5 of Max and Ruby, the logo is superimposed. FX/SFX: Same as the 4th logo. Music/Sounds: Same as the 4th logo. The ending theme could also play over it. Availability: Extremely rare. It’s currently unknown if it was seen on some DVD releases. Editor’s Note: None. 8th Logo (October 2016- ) Nicknames: “The Polar Bear VII”, “‘2010s Polar Bear”, “New Polar Bear” Logo: On a blue background, we see a polar bear being traced and the word “nelvana” being traced, both in white. A star appears in white and the polar bear moves its head slightly which causes colors to invert. Byline: Referred to as “A corus. Company” (with “corus.” in its new font and in blue). FX/SFX: Nice animation. Music/Sounds: A dreamy synth theme or the ending theme. Availability: Brand new. Debuted on their website, then it later debuted officially on Hotel Transylvania: The Series. It also appeared on new episodes of all Nelvana shows, except for a few, such as Plum Landing, which continues to use the 6th logo throughout 2019. It’s currently used in tandem with the 6th logo. Editor’s Note: None.